Going the Distance Is Routine

While a small percentage of local runners might take on a run of more than 10 miles once a week, Spaso Gavric, 53, is out running 10 to 13 miles five or six times each week.

By ROB MASON

Spaso Gavric, a used-car salesman at Regal Chevrolet, is a very uncommon long distance runner.While a small percentage of local runners might take on a run of more than 10 miles once a week, Gavric, 53, is out running 10 to 13 miles five or six times each week.Gavric has a history of sports dating to his days in his homeland of Serbia. He practiced jiujitsu and played soccer on a local team in Sarajevo.He also was a part of the security force at the Winter Olympic Games in 1984. He was at the opening ceremonies, but the games didn't instill an interest in plummeting downhill on wooden planks.Running still didn't enter the picture, except for chasing a soccer ball, until after Gavric moved from Canada to Florida in 2000. A friend from Winter Haven asked him if he'd like to run the Gasparilla race in 2007. So he accepted the challenge and started training."Once she put that in my mind, that was it," he said. "She was training in Winter Haven, and I was training here."All of a sudden, she gave up. But I didn't want to give up."That year, I completed the 15K. Then I realized that 15K was only a little over three miles less than a half marathon."When the 2008 Gasparilla rolled around, Gavric was ready to run the half marathon, which he finished in 2 hours, 2 minutes. In 2009, he improved to 1:42.Continually looking for another challenge, a different friend proposed that he run a marathon."I said, ‘Well, that's a good idea,'?" Gavric said. "Let me try that."I planted the seed in my mind and started working very hard, early in the morning."That early-morning running is what developed into his regimen of running laps around Lake Hollingsworth, starting at 4:30. He formed the routine of running three days in a row and taking one day off, a format he still follows today.Gavric's first marathon was the Run For Donna in Jacksonville in February 2012. He finished that 26.2-mile journey in four hours two minutes.Then he looked to the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., in October."I completed that in 4 hours, 7 minutes," he said. "But it was a little more hills, and I wasn't prepared for that."Following that, he did another half marathon in Madiera Beach to finish out 2012.So far this year, he's done the Run For Donna Marathon again on Feb. 17 and followed up with the Gasparilla Half Marathon on Feb. 24.In the marathon, he had a new experience."It was the first time it happened to me and I wasn't used to it," Gavric said. "We had just come out of a residential area, and we were out on a beach around nine miles."We were running north into a strong wind. I looked to the side, and I saw a few guys running right behind me."I realized they were drafting behind me. So I stopped, but they stopped with me. This was so funny to me."As soon as we got back in the neighborhoods, the wind wasn't so strong and they passed me."Gavric completed the marathon in 4:11 and the Gasparilla Half Marathon in 1:50:59."Sometimes, it's a little bit crazy, when I think about what I'm doing," he said. "I could do six or eight miles. But I always think that if I am not prepared well, I may not be able to complete my goal. And that would be a shame."Right now, as long as I can focus on those long distances, I will. If I don't run for two or three days, I'm not the same person."I have a few loves in my life. They are my family, sports activities and cars. Running is very important to me."When you get up in the morning and you run, your day is totally different than if you just get up and go to work. The energy you have, that you can put into your work, is amazing. I am more calm and full of energy. Nothing can stop me doing what I want to do."